Eustace’s Sea King reigns supreme in the Bendigo Cup
The Harry Eustace-trained Sea King (6 g ex Pamona by Duke Of Marmalade) set himself on a Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) path after he strolled to an easy victory on his Australian debut in Wednesday’s Bendigo Cup (Gr 3, 2400m).
The gelding was having his first start for Eustace after being transferred from Sir Mark Prescott’s in August and he showed an explosive turn of foot under Declan Bates to beat Berkeley Square (Territories) by 3.8 lengths, with Star Vega (Lope De Vega) 0.2 lengths further away in third.
Eustace admitted he wasn’t expecting to gain a spot in next Tuesday’s Group 1.
“It’s incredibly exciting. A lot was riding on it, it’s the last win-and-you’re-in [spot] for the Cup, so it’s an absolute dream result today,” he said.
It was very exciting to see, and I suppose there’s the added excitement that he’s now booked his slot for the Melbourne Cup
“I’d just like to thank [OTI’s] Terry [Henderson] in particular, he managed to buy this horse just before Docklands travelled down as well and it’s proving a pretty inspired purchase.
“Curiously, coming down, we never even thought we’d get close [to a Cup spot] and, of course, since we’ve been here the Cup, as everyone is well aware, has really started cutting up, so the closer we got to getting in, the more pressure there was I suppose.
“It was very exciting to see, and I suppose there’s the added excitement that he’s now booked his slot for the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday. We felt he’d really thrived in quarantine, but you never really know how well they are until they hit the track, so we were thrilled with how dominant he was in the end at Bendigo.”
The victory handed Eustace a first stakes win and he confirmed that leading British-based rider Hollie Doyle would take the ride in the Melbourne Cup, which will be her first ride in the Flemington showpiece.
“Declan Bates is unfortunately not able to do the weight in the Cup, so we’re lining Hollie Doyle up to take the ride, which would be a great booking,” he said. “Based on his run today, if he can repeat that under Hollie, you’d like to think we’re going there with a live chance.
“It’s also a massive milestone for us as a team in winning our first Group race. It’s probably taken a little longer than we’d have liked, but to have achieved it in such an important race as we plot our way to the [Melbourne] Cup is huge. Any international winner is a big result too, especially in Australia at the moment as it’s becoming harder and harder to get horses running down here.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Terry [Henderson] and the team from OTI Racing. They took the plunge to buy him with this dream in mind and also to give us the confidence to send him down here alongside Docklands. Hopefully we can pull it off for them.”
Sea King’s final start in Europe came in the prestigious Ebor Handicap (1m 6f) at York where he finished sixth, one place ahead of subsequent Geelong Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) winner Onesmoothoperator (Dialed In), with the pair set to clash again in the Melbourne Cup next week.
“We now can’t wait to run him in the Cup, should we pass the vets’ scans. Obviously, the Ebor form looks strong, finishing ahead of Geelong Cup winner Onesmoothoperator, and I think the two-mile trip should be fine. You’d have to think he’ll be competitive off the back of today’s win, so it’ll just be a case of whether he’s classy enough to go and win it.
As Eustace alluded to, Racing Victoria’s vet scans have proved an obstacle to internationally trained runners this year, including ante-post favourite Jan Brueghel (Galileo), who was ruled out by the vets on Tuesday. Sea King will now face the same tests as he requires clearance to run at Flemington.
“Sea King will now undergo new CT scans on Thursday which will determine whether we’re allowed to run on Tuesday. He’s passed them before, and he’s not a younger horse like Jan Brueghel, so fingers crossed he’ll pass them, and we’ll be rocking and rolling on to the Cup,” said Eustace.
Originally purchased by Barry Lynch and his former trainer from the draft of his breeder Highclere Stud for 87,000gns out of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Sea King is out of Listed winner Pamona (Duke Of Marmalade), making him a half-brother to two winners.
Pomona herself is out of Italian Group 3 scorer Palanca (Inchinor), making her a half-sister to Listed scorer Prianca (Diktat), the graddam of Listed scorer Padovana (Sea The Moon).
In winning the Group 3, Sea King became the 134th individual stakes winner for Sea The Stars (Cape Cross), who stands at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in Ireland.